Anna shielded her face from the intense sunlight, which gently warmed her skin like one of the direct heaters she remembered from the government shelter. It took her a while to adjust to the brightness and gather the courage to sit up.
Tears welled in her eyes as she tried to understand the beauty that surrounded her. The wet, earthy smell of rain and wet moss, combined with the unfamiliar view, left her speachless.
Slowly, she rose to her feet, feeling the fragile leaves beneath her bare feet as her memories filled her mind. She logged into the server and then - this happened. It spat her out into a birch forest, naked and confused.
Anna took a deep breath, her chest rising with the effort as the coolness of the fresh air filled her lungs. For a moment she just sat there, unable to believe her own senses, staring at the wildflowers that dotted the grassy clearing, tiny tufts of yellow and white.
She fell to her knees again, trying to touch everything within her reach, to feel the soft grass and moss. It slipped through her slender fingers, leaving a trail of dew on her skin. Her heart tightened at the sight and feel of the unfamiliar lush green. She wanted to cry, laugh, and scream.
The only green plant she has seen was the distorted basil one of the girls tried to grow under an emergency exit light when she was about eleven, and then the large plants planted in the lab lobby, which she later found out were fake.
At the moment of awareness of her surroundings, she paused, suddenly unsure of what should she do. She let the quiet beauty of the forest wash over her, grounding her, making her feel small and yet a part of something infinitely greater. The wind gently tousled a strand of her hair across her face, and she reached up instinctively to brush it off, her fingers trembling slightly as she did so. There was a peace here, an overwhelming serenity.
No sirens, no screams, no loud neighbors, no hum of the lab generator or ventilation, nor the hiss of the Peacekeeper communicators. Just the low hum of the leaves and the lazy twittering of small birds.
Anna realized that she had no plan. But that might be a good thing... Mindlessly exploring the beautiful lands of this server might be the best cure for her overworked mind. She could forget the inhuman research she had been a part of for a two years now, forget the piercing gaze of the blue eyes of the man who had lured her into the intricate web of control and official contracts. The man who was paying her almost 2510 standardized units every month to keep her mouth shut and to keep up the act of a talented young woman with a certificate and a diploma in front of her colleagues.
She took a deep breath and stood up once again. What was she supposed to do now?
There were no instructions, no protocols. No one to tell her how to survive, or what to expect next. Only the rustling of leaves and the chirping of birds. She looked around again, at the towering trees, the wildflowers…
It was a breathtaking sight, a stark contrast to the concrete jungle and man-made environment she had grown accustomed to.
Her mind raced, but the peace around her pushed back the tension. It was terrifying and beautiful at the same time. The warmth of the sun was so comforting. And the ground... the ground was solid, soft, alive. The world she knew - cold, brutal, filthy - felt like a distant nightmare.
Unaware of her location, she decided to look around, and as soon as she did, goosebumps pricked her skin as a cold autumn breeze brushed against her bare back.
With a deep breath, Anna gathered a bit of courage and took a hesitant step forward, determined to enjoy the experience regardless of being so ill-informed of what to expect, but just after a few steps, her eyes stopped at the neatly folded clothes lying on the colorful leaves. Her face lit up with a smile as she examined the items, the soft fabric of the thin skirt and blouse fitting her tall frame perfectly.
Anna took only a moment to think and quickly dressed, leaving the high boots behind as she was eager to feel the soft grass beneath her feet. The top was a bit loose, though, so she tucked it neatly behind the wide skirt with the huge pockets.
A golden pin studded with rubies glittered in the grass, but she almost didn't notice it. Having no idea what the jewel was originally designed for, she decided to use it as a hairpin to keep her dark, long hair out of her face.
When she was done, a soft voice suddenly entered her mind and startled her, the voice reading some instructions.
This new open world combines pieces of fantasy ideas with classic RPG games. Explore as you please. Over the next four hours, you will be guided around the Prologue map and given useful clues to gameplay. The first two hours will be used to introduce you to the world.
Anna immediately understood what the developers had done. A game. This server was classified as a game. Because if they introduced it as an official virtual reality, they would have to find a way to enforce the law here. And that was obviously too much trouble.
It was much easier to give users sticks and stones and send them off to kill the dragon or something...
She knew the best that the efforts to extend the lives of the 0.01% of the rich through genetic modification or artificial consciousness transfer were competitive as she herself saw the horrors of the research behind the genetic modification herself. Of course these software companies tried to keep up with every dirty trick they knew.
But she was too consumed by the beauty of this world to log out now.
Just keep a low profile and enjoy the feeling of the soft grass under your toes…
Anna sighed and tried to calm down with picking up few flowers tangled between grass. A soft grin appeared on her lips as she realized the string of informations flowing into her mind. The name, the rarity of this weed, the ways how every part could be used. Must be a bug or something…
The sparkle in her eyes and the small, involuntary smile that tugged at the corners of her lips gave her away. It was obvious that she couldn't control her excitement, no matter how hard she tried.
Anna walked cautiously through the forest, carrying an increasing amount of flowers, mushrooms, and nice sticks in her pockets. The sheer abundance of nature made her heart flutter with joy.
And the taste of the tiny berries and other fruits she found amazed her. It was much better than the tasteless protein mash she survived on for two decades and it so different from the instant meals and soups she ate every day now.
With the sour blackberries in her palm, Anna walked slowly through the unfamiliar forest, eating one berry at a time, enjoying the peaceful moment.
The sun was already low, creating long shadows and beautiful colors in front of her, when another warning disturbed her.
Attention. Your class will now be revealed. Recalculation...
Your class is now HERBALIST.
You have learned new skills:
GATHER / HERBARIUM / PROPAGATE / PROCESS
The remaining two hours will be used to further specify your profession on this server. You can refuse the class assigned to you, a new class will be randomly assigned to you after the restart of the device.